


Strange Magic

by Authority_Burnt, MadMono



Series: Strange Magic [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Cat Lance (Voltron), Eventual Romance, Familiars, Fantasy, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lance is an adorable kitty, Lance is struggling with his feelings (aka wants to bang Keith but stays in denial), M/M, Magic, Mysticism, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Necromancy, OOC, RST, Romance, Shapeshifting, UST, Wizard Keith (Voltron), incubus, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 04:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21314509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Authority_Burnt/pseuds/Authority_Burnt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadMono/pseuds/MadMono
Summary: In a world where everything is possible, the magic is able to create any miracles and destroy any fate with the same ease. Will the connection between the wizard and the half-blood shapeshifter result in a successful magical alliance or put both of their lives in danger?
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Strange Magic [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536583
Kudos: 12





	Strange Magic

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Strange Magic](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/531850) by Madam Monochrom, Authority Burnt. 

> Hi there! This is my first translation of a work, which I published with my co-author a year ago on Halloween. The original is in Russian and posted on a different site. English is not my native langage, so um... sorry for the fails I may have there ;) If you liked the story and (maybe) wish to help us edit it (pleeeease!), feel free to contact us! We are looking forward to your comments! The second part will be published in a week!

A box of grasshoppers, sable feathers, a bunch of cobwebs, several toad skins and a jar of mucus from a mushroom cap are certainly a good catch for one day. The young wizard carefully wiped his hands from the blood with a rag, walking along the hedge that separated the cemetery from the forest. The Holy Night was drawing near — a time when all witches and sorcerers gain strength and create incredible spells. The young magician hurried to his hut on the outskirts of the village to apply the extracted ingredients for a new potion not noticing a fluffy red pile on the yellow fallen leaves under his feet. He stumbled on it and sprawled on the soft ground swearing loudly:

“Quiznak!”

The sorcerer turned around crouching on the damp ground. Two slanting blue eyes sparkled piercing through him — an unusual shade for a feline.

“Watch where you are going, you moron!” The red cat hissed at the stumbling magician, standing up on his paws from a carpet of fallen leaves and gracefully stretching his long slender body.

The raven-haired raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“A familiar? Where are you from? Are you lost or ... did you come for me?”

A silver ritual knife appeared out of nowhere in the guy’s hands. He did not expect the Magic Council to find him so quickly. But if the owner of this animal appears, he was ready for a fight.

“Woa-woa, man, take it easy! I am too young to become a taco filling!” The red-striped quite humanly raised his front paws in surrender. “Take your toothpick away for bacon’s sake, this is making me too nervous...” the cat glanced cautiously at the menacingly sparkling blade in the wizard’s hand. “And what kind of familiar are you taking me for? I am a shapeshifter!” The kitten retorted indignantly smoothing the folded ear with his front paw.

“If so, then why don't you turn into your human form? Talking with a cat's throat is probably uncomfortable.”

The wizard lowered his knife, but was still ready to strike. A thought flashed in the man's dark purple eyes. If the animal was telling the truth, then he was lucky to find himself a new victim for experiments.

“Then what is your name, shapeshifter?”

“Well, my name is Lance, but this is unlikely to tell you anything. Unfortunately, due to some circumstances I cannot turn into a human yet”, he sighed miserably.

“What a pity”, the sorcerer didn’t sound very sympathetic. “Then why are you in these lands?”

“I was forced to leave my home, and now I'm just walking wherever my paws lead. I can’t go back; otherwise I will be molested again by these nasty old assholes who are just drooling on the free magic upgrade at my expense!” The cat was treading in circles in front of the young magician, his whiskers twitching angrily. “It’s better to stay in this body forever than to become a free trophy of one of these old freaks from the Academy! May their hands which had the audacity to touch me dry up and fall off!” The cat hissed raising his fur and fluffing up his tail.

“I can understand your indignation. There is nothing good to expect from them, I already know for sure…” The raven-haired laughed and held out his hand to the red cat for “a handshake”. “Glad to meet my partner of misfortune. If you do not mind, I would like to know more about your adventures, but not here. The bushes also have ears, you know…” The magician looked around apprehensively.

“I agree,” the cat nodded, extending his front paw to him. “I can also sense some extraneous energy. Apparently, there is still a tail spying behind me. Not this one” he specified, waving a fluffy red brush behind his back.

“Well, let's see how your pursuers try to break into my house. Minced meat for the cutlets after them will be enough for two weeks.” The magician rose to his feet shaking off the dirt and leaves from the mantle and adjusting it after the fall. Wasting no time he led the new acquaintance to his house.

***

Soon they were at a fork, but instead of heading towards the village, the man turned back to the forest. They had been walking for about ten minutes and the magician was silent almost the whole time constantly looking around with caution. Finally they came up to a huge red-leaved oak tree. The wizard walked up to the tree and knocked on the bark, imitating some kind of melody. The wood creaked and a door invisible until that moment opened before them.

“Welcome” said the wizard letting the cat into his humble abode.

“Wow, this mansion is no joke, buddy!” The fluffy mage turned his head around pricking his ears and observing the interior of the place. The creaky wooden floor, carved furniture and the soft light from the fireplace were creating warmth and comfort in the magic sanctuary. Bunches of dried herbs, berries, bones, paws and other stuff for potions were hanging from the ceiling in long garlands.

“Let’s settle down!” The cat turned to the host and taking the silence for consent, jumped up into a wooden rocking chair by the fireplace. Having twirled a couple of times around himself, the cat curled up on a chair covering his paws with his tail and yawned widely, sneezing from the ashes that got into his nose from the fire.

"Insolence is the second happiness." The magician chuckled under his breath, closing the door behind him. The mantle flew off his shoulders, hanging itself on a hanger at the entrance, and the owner himself began to get today's catch out of his bag onto the kitchen table. Grasshoppers into the cage, mucus into the test tube, cobwebs and feathers into the drawers, skins onto the stretchers. By the time he was done with his affairs the cat was already dozing off peacefully in the wizard’s favorite chair, moving his whiskers amusingly in his sleep. Such a cutie could really be easily forgiven for any arrogance, he thought.

The magician was wondering meanwhile how this shapeshifter must look as a human. Was he really so handsome that the old scoundrels from the Council were so determined to enslave him? Although, the whole reason was probably the incredible magical power emanating from the tiny fragile fluffy body. The raven-haired scratched the cat behind the ear gently not trying to resist the urge.

The striped redhead purred quietly, clinging to the tender hands. The fluffy pretzel turned over and stretched sweetly lying on its back and clenching its clawed paws in pleasure.

“And the belly ... scrrratch the belly” the redhead purred impudently.

“Aren't you too open to unfamiliar magicians?” The young wizard was slightly embarrassed, but fulfilled the request anyway. “What kind of shameless creature are you?”

“Mrr ... awesssome,” the cat closed his eyes blissfully and licked the wizard’s hand a couple of times in gratitude for the caress.  
“Unfamiliar, you say? Well, that's your screw-up that you didn't bother to introduce yourself. Shame is not in my nature at all. And while I'm here I'm safe. And you are too.”

“Sorcerers don't tend to reveal their names to anyone. Aren’t you aware that knowing the name of the magical creature it is easier to disarm and bewitch them?” The purplish grey eyes flashed mysteriously. “It was quite incautious of you to reveal yours to me, but don't worry, I'm not going to use your naivety.”

The redhead only chuckled proudly.

“Don't be so cocky, dear mage. Had you even known the maiden name of my great-grandmother, it would not have saved you. You seem to want to hear my story, right? Then in return, please, tell me a bit about whom I have the honor to speak to. You don’t have to tell me your name, since it is so crucial for you. Aaand I would be beyond elated if I had something to eat.”

"Well," the man went up to the shelf with foods and supplies covered with a frost spell. Kind of a magical analogue of a fridge.

“So, smoked sausage, brisket, stew, liver cake and garlic knots. What does your heart desire, dear cat?”

“I would not like to seem too forward, but dare to admit I would like to try a little bit of everything. And do you happen to have any milk there by chance? It would not be favorable to consume so many delicacies without a drink.” The cat got up on his feet slowly, stretched the back up and jumped off the chair.

“Milk? A sorcerer? You certainly are funny.” The guy complied with the request of a feline, taking a piece from each of the snacks and submitting them to the guest on a large plate. “I could make some tea from Catnip, but I'm afraid that after it you won't be able to say anything.”

“Oh... well, all right. That will do.”

The striped guest rushed to the plate and began munching the offered foods. Once the bowl was empty and thoroughly licked, the whiskered gentlecat rubbed himself against the leg of the host of the homey dwelling, hugging his shins gratefully with his tail.

“Thank you, young wizard. Now tell me who you are, where you come from and where you have gained such powers. That can’t be hidden from me either. Don't worry, I will not give your secrets away and in return I promise to tell you anything you want to hear.”

“There is not much to tell, really, in fact my life is pretty boring.” The sorcerer began his story, sitting down on a chair where the cat was previously sleeping. “I was growing up like a normal child until I found out that my mother was a witch. I got to know that when I burned down my own home with my father still inside. I had nowhere to go and the Magic Council took advantage of it taking me to custody under the roof of their Academy. At first, I was there merely as a slave and only thanks to my innate skills and the support of one of the teachers I was able to become a student and learn magical disciplines to the full. But then... my mentor was gone and staying in the Academy turned out to be unsafe. Those old bastards wanted to “educate” me using their “techniques”. I could not allow this to happen, so I escaped, started living in the wild, continuing to learn independently and practicing spells on my own...”

The young man's face darkened and suddenly looked older a few years from the flood of memories. Two narrow pupils flashed under his feet and a clawed paw gently poked his leg. Pushing off on the hind legs the shapeshifter jumped deftly onto the wizard’s lap kneading his legs with his sharp clawed paws like a skilled massage therapist. The kitty sat down comfortably, looking up at him with his big sad eyes shining in the darkness like the indigo of the sea in the gleam of the full moon.

“No need to grieve, young wizard. You're not responsible for what had happened. Moreover, it is not your fault that you were born this way. That we are born this way... Well, here comes my turn.” The cat settled his head on his front paws. “My family is ancient, and not even the Elders know how many magic bloods are mixed in it. Hence, the force of it is almost legendary. I myself took after my parents, therefore I was born with two forms — half shapeshifter, half incubus. Scoundrels of all sorts have always been after me willing to benefit from my strength. After all, you know that incubuses absorb the vital energy of the one with whom, you know... ” The slanting eye winked suggestively in the darkness. “So for an ordinary person or a weak sorcerer a night with me would be the best in their life, but, alas, the last one. But if someone is strong enough, they will be able to absorb more and more magical power with my help becoming almost invincible. That's why all the powerful sorcerers that my parents suggested as spouses for me turned out to be nastier than swamp toads! There was nothing in this union but profit for them! I couldn’t live like that… And I don’t wish anyone such a fate. That is why I ran away from home. Now I can’t return to the human body, for my strength in it has dried up and now I can no longer take it from a natural source. When I turned 250 moons, or in your count about 19 years old, I reached the age of maturity and my body began to betray me. The craving was unbearable; I hardly managed to suffer a week, fortunately, without causing any harm to myself or anyone else. The only thing that saved me was that this destructive force is weakening in the form of an animal. And since then I have been walking as this little striped creature. There’s nowhere to expect help for me, as I wasn’t desired by anyone while my magic was still asleep in the human body, and with this body I will never be wanted. I don’t want to bind anyone with spells. It’s wrong and pointless. That’s the kind of magic I ended up with. I can attract anyone, but I can’t keep them beside me by their own will. A short lifetime is promised to me in this body, but I have already made my decision.

“How interesting…”

The Mage was not surprised by the tragedy of this story. Their world was cruel and merciless to those lacking strength of will, but the story itself intrigued him greatly. He had so many questions and ideas for taking notes, that he regretted not bringing a notebook along. “Your problem can be solved. And marriage will not be necessary. But still this idea is not without flaws. If it does not work, we shall die probably both, but success will bring incredible results!

The sorcerer's eyes lit up from excitement about the variety of scenarios, although most of them were lethal. But the guy’s soul was singing from the mere thought of this adventure.

The cat hissed bristling, jumped onto the floor on stiff legs, fluffed up his tail and jumped away from the mage.

“You won’t take me alive!” He yelled angrily, punching the floorboards with his tail. “Who would have thought, with such a clean aura you turned out to be such a scoundrel, just like everyone else.” The fury in his voice was replaced by irritation and resentment. “Thank you for your hospitality, dear master! But it’s time for me to leave,” and waving his tail one last time the feline headed for the exit.

“I didn't mean anything of what you're imagining,” the guy replied with absolute calm, not even looking over at the guest. He wouldn’t be able get out of the locked cabin anyway. “There is a ritual that is performed on Halloween Night and the name of it is the Star Stream. It is dangerous and rarely any magician is able to carry it out it alone, because the surging magic can easily burn them down, but the most persistent and skillful can create the source for their powers for years to come, and if done regularly, you could even obtain immortality. I was going to take the risk anyway, as I have nothing to lose. But you, as I understand, still have plans for the rest of your cat lives, so I will not try to persuade you if you're so confident in your decision.”

The redhead perked up his ears at the words of the eccentric magician and lowered his head sadly.

“But don’t you know that if I come under the moonlight in the Night of the Spirits, I will lose my present appearance and all the pent-up magic energy within me will start gushing out? And the Power can't touch me directly in the body of an incubus. So it's useless for me. But since you're so stubborn, my dear suicidal furry fetishist, all I can do is take some magic energy upon myself so that you will not be crushed by it. I hope you understand how I will have to do this? And let me remind you, the chances of survival are almost equal to zilch. Are you still sure you really need that?” he asked skeptically, hoping for the prudence of the young wizard to wake up.

“The incubus magic will not work on one condition — if you become my familiar.” The mage pronounced this with such confidence, although he really had no idea whether he'd even be able to bond with such a powerful beast. But if all goes well, the poor creature will not be forced to give in to the ominous incubus instincts, as the power will be shared equally between the two. In fact, the magician will be giving the familiar a part of his energy without physical contact until the end of his days, and the incubus-shapeshifter won't be able to affect him with his dark magic. But only if everything works out. If not, they are both done for.

The wizard sighed and turned to the cat:

“Keith. My name is Keith. There’s still a week left before that night, so you have time to think. I won't force you.” he waved his hand and the door opened itself.

“Do you think this will work?” the magical creature turned to him. “Since you want to make a contract with me, it’s better to do it tonight. It's the full moon. And eternity is quite a lot of time. Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”

“I have nothing to lose,” shrugged the young witcher. “Sitting and waiting for a kick from destiny? I have dedicated myself to mysticism and I am ready for sacrifice. But you are a completely different story, having only suffered from your own magic. Are you ready for this adventure?”

“I also have little choice, so it’s better to take the risk. And you’re stroking me so niccce and your sausages are sooo delicious!” The tomcat portrayed a perfect grin of the Cheshire cat.

“Glad to cater to your tastes.” For the first time that day the sorcerer smiled genuinely and walked over to the cat, scratching him gently behind the ear. “So be it, we will do everything today and will be ready for the ritual for Halloween.”

“Do you have anything suitable for twin amulets, dear wizard? I would like something on the neck, so that it remains on the body while I’m changing shape. After all, the amulet can not be removed after the union is formed.” The cat closed his eyes in pleasure, raising his fluffy head for more scratching and stroking.

“Hm ... there is something, but it’s a bad idea. You probably won’t like it.”

The mage went up to the chest of drawers, rummaging through its contents until he found what he was looking for. Turning around on his heels, he introduced two chains with engagement rings with identical engraving on them to the cat's eye.

“It seems to me it’s better to have a scarring or a tattoo made instead. Such things will not get lost.”

“No way in hell! I won’t let my fur be spoiled! What kind of nonsense is that — a cat with a tattoo! Better put this noose on me already, just don’t make the chain too short, or it will bite my skull off next time I turn into a human!

“Well then, let’s use the rings.”

For the rest of the evening the two magicians were carefully preparing for the ritual choosing the right proportions for the potion. The sorcerer still had doubts about the fairness of his deed, and not only because of the impending danger and a short acquaintance with the future magical companion. Maybe he really was not that different from those selfish old freaks, he thought to himself.

By midnight a magic circle surrounded by candles and ritual objects had appeared not far from the oak in which the sorcerer lived. In the center of it a potion was boiling in a copper pot over a small fire. It was almost midnight, and a snow-white saucer of the full moon was hanging over them, illuminating everything with a ghostly blue light. The magician gestured for the cat to come to the center of the circle and sat opposite him in front of the cauldron.

“Ready?”

“Yes,” the shapeshifter nodded resolutely and sat across from Keith, frozen in a stately pose like a porcelain figurine.

The young man pulled out the two chains with the rings prepared in advance from the inner pocket of his robes, throwing them both into the boiling liquid. Then he took out his knife, stirring slowly the potion in the cauldron pronouncing something in an unknown language. Little wisps of light floating in the air like a flock of soap bubbles began to appear around them and while Lance was distracted by contemplating this magnificent sight a hot sharp blade scratched his shoulder lightly. Before he could even make a sound the magician did the same with his own hand. When their blood was mixed on the blade and accumulated at the edge, the mage sent the scarlet drop straight into the boiling substance. The color of the potion changed from green to scarlet, and the dense flock of lights covered them over their heads. The energy was seeping into the skin, warming them from the inside, filling the familiar with the magical force. The cat couldn’t see or hear anything and when the ritual was over, he found himself in a completely white space. When the strange vision vanished and his eyes got accustomed to the darkness, he saw how everything had changed, as if a whirlwind swept through the place of their magic circle. The mage was lying before him unconscious.

A Long fluffy tail tickled the owner on the back and the sides. The ears were sadly pressed to his head as soon as the shapeshifter saw the sorcerer and realized what had happened. What could have gone wrong?

The sensations were contradictory: the power was overwhelming, but the movements felt difficult and unusual, and the world became as if closer to his eyes. As soon as Lance's gaze fell upon his limbs, he panicked. Apparently, the bolt of magical force was so powerful that the body of an animal was unable to hold it within any longer. But why then did he still have his ears and the tail? And he didn’t feel any cold even on a chilly October night being completely naked.

The wizard still had not come to. The pulse was barely palpable on the pale wrist, and the weak heartbeat was difficult to detect even with the sensitive cat ears through a thin mantle.

“Alive...” whispered the newly-converted familiar with relief, clutching Keith’s cold hand in his own. Suddenly he jumped away from the mage as fast as he could frantically staring at his own hands. But in spite of his fears, he didn’t seem to lose his mind from thirst even after a physical contact and the terrible pain didn’t follow the unexpected touch. He gave out a loud sigh of relief, covering his face with his hands. Has the curse finally left him alone? But considering at what cost it happened, he felt no joy.

“Holy quiznak! The amulets!!!” Lance blurted out and hurried to the pot. At the bottom of the empty crockery two rings were shining soft turquoise on the thin chains. The shapeshifter lifted them up into the air using his magic. One of the chains wrapped around his neck. The second fell into Keith’s palm and the ring sat on his finger like a glove. The gleam of the amulets became brighter, and a string of shining particles resembling stardust stretched from one ring to the other.

“Bluetooth connected. The data is transferring,” Lance joked with relief, feeling the energy flowing out of him into the body of the powerless wizard.

“Come on, my dear mage, darling, wake up...” whispered the fluffy-tailed, trying to shake awake the motionless body lying on the cold ground. But the magician was still unmoving.

Carefully picking him up, the familiar headed back to the dwelling of the sorcerer carrying him in his arms. The wizard’s exhausted body was weightless. The moonlight was illuminating the rocky path and the impenetrable thicket parted at once before the mighty wanderers. Having reached the oak at last, Lance started thinking how they were going to get inside.

“Open Sesame!” he proclaimed, banging his fist on the tree. No luck.

“Maybe there is a passcode or a fingerprint scanner like touch ID?” he suggested jokingly. Putting his “cargo” on his feet, he pressed Keith’s palm to the trunk of the tree. The amulets sparkled up once again and the bark started to part.

“Not an Apple tree, but the features are the same!” the catman exclaimed cheerfully, coming into the house with his master in his arms. Gently lowering the warlock on the bed, the familiar crouched down on his knees, tickling his face with a brush of a long red tail. The mage still hadn’t come to his senses, but the unhealthy paleness began to fade away.

“Not waking up? …Well, all right. Then have some rest,” the shapeshifter sighed sadly and went to the freezer shelf to find himself a snack. Having heated a couple of cutlets with his magic, he sent them flying straight into his mouth. After successfully emptying the stocks Lance tried to return into the cat's body. He concentrated all his strength and focused on the transformation, but for some reason it did not happen.

“Apparently, I absorbed too much magic,” he concluded. “Well, the main thing is to turn back before my “master” wakes up. It will be no trouble, no catastrophe, really, I have a very sensitive hearing,” the fluffy locators on top of his head perked up.

After a hearty dinner all he really desired was to take a nap. After covering the mage with a blanket Lance pulled out a piece of woolen cloth remotely resembling a plaid from the windowsill and curled up at the wizard's feet by an old feline habit, covered himself all over with the blanket and peacefully dozed off.

***

Keith woke up closer to noon. He opened his eyes with a distressed whine, but his vision still couldn't focus on anything, leaving him surrounded by blurred space. Breathing was hard, as if his chest was pressed down by a concrete slab. No wonder why he was feeling this exhausted. His powers had been divided equally between him and the familiar. What was really puzzling is how he ended up in his own bed!

With great effort the wizard managed to raise himself up on the bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly and observing his belongings inside the oak. Then his eyes lay upon a huge lump under the blanket lying at his feet with fluffy red ears sticking out from under it. He touched the cat ears curiously trying to figure out who they belonged to.

The ears twitched from the touch and disappeared under the blanket. The lump under it rose up and shifted, and the cloth came sliding down smoothly to the floor, revealing a dozing creature underneath. A boy with short light brown hair and freckled milk caramel skin was lying on the edge of the bed on his stomach, shifting slightly in his dream. Only the cat ears and a long fluffy tail gave out his belonging to the magical creatures. Jerking from the unexpected coolness on his bare skin, he turned over once again and curled up on himself, pressing his knees to his chest and covering himself by the fluffy brush of his tail.

At first the magician fell into a shock from contemplating the unknown and completely naked body in his bed. He began to remember frantically the events of last night. So, he met the cat, brought him home, fed him, told him his story, and he told his... Oh, right! It seems that this was the human form of his new pet. Reaching down for the fallen blanket, the sorcerer covered his fluffy eared companion with it once again. As expected, an insane craving for the catboy was not showing itself. Everything went as planned. Keith felt impossibly exhausted, but the joy of successfully executing a spell of the highest class was coursing through his veins like wildfire.

Smiling softly, he caressed the familiar’s fluffy red ear just like when they had first met. The shapeshifter’s face broke into a satisfied smile, stretching his body contently with fingers rumpling the sheets like cat paws, and sat down on the bed, yawning sweetly. He opened his eyes blinking sleepily, and his gaze first fell on the wizard's hand dangerously close to his head and then on the dark-haired guy himself. The entire trunk of the magical oak shook from his violent shriek. The tail immediately came to the aid of the owner, wrapping itself around his hips creating some semblance of a loincloth.

“Don’t look!” screamed the catboy, pressing his palm over the brunet’s eyes.

“Why are you shouting? Your charms don't work on me, remember?” It seemed like the sorcerer was not embarrassed by the nakedness of his long-eared companion. Pushing Lance’s hand away from his eyes irritably, he furrowed his brows looking into the bottomless blue eyes. Only then the cause of embarrassment of his familiar finally crossed his mind.

“You've trusted me with your life, why are you now panicking over something so insignificant?” snorted the raven-haired, turning away and trying to stand up. His legs still would not work, and he fell back immediately on the bed like a newborn fawn.

“All right, you will find the clothes yourself. There should be a bathrobe in the closet.”

The familiar lowered his gaze guiltily, pressing his ears to his head.

“I'm sorry... I didn't want you to see me in this form. In any case, seems like I had no choice. The transformation spell is not working...” he sighed and wrapped himself tightly with a blanket. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired. The body is still not used to being half-emptied, that's why it’s hurting” the magician gave his partner a stern look. “It's not your fault, everything went as it was meant to and you did everything right” he smiled wearily by the edge of his lips. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of your appearance; we're birds of a feather after all...”

“Okay…” the tailed guy was about to ask what he meant, but was too embarrassed to continue this topic.

Digging inside the closet, he fished out a pair of baggy pants, a linen shirt and knee boots. After trying all this on, he glanced at his reflection in a glass door of a cupboard with various bottles, boxes and vials with the contents worthy of the Kunstkammer. “Heh, just like Puss in Boots! Only the hat is missing!” He bowed, depicting a gesture of removing the headdress with his hand and curling up an imaginary mustache.

Sniffing along the garlands of dried herbs, he tore a bunch out of several of them, poured the dry mixture into a metal bowl and poured the water into it. By the click of a finger a fire lit under it. When the potion was ready, Lance sent the cup with the drink flying towards Keith.

“Drink this. It will help you restore your energy balance faster. Be careful, it’s hot!”

The sorcerer looked sternly at the familiar.

“I know that you are glad to regain your magical abilities, but please do not waste your magic on such trifles, at least for a couple of days, let me get used to the new amount,” he took the mug, nodded gratefully sipping the broth in it and was surprised to find there quite a decent healing potion. “Wow! Do you know herbalism? You have great proportions!”

The mage emptied the mug with undisguised pleasure. He felt noticeably better and was finally able to get out of bed. Approaching the shapeshifter the raven-haired scratched his ear in gratitude, as if he was still in a feline form.

At first Lance jerked away slightly in fright fluffing up his tail, but quickly pulled himself together. For some reason the touch had evoked completely different sensations in the new body. What used to give peace and relaxation was now somehow making him worry and feel unfamiliar awkwardness. But these gentle hands, the warm half-smile and the kind-hearted eyes the color of a starry winter night carried all his worries away. His insides were suddenly filled with warmth. With burning heat. It was as if someone had snapped his fingers and somewhere deep beneath his ribs a magical fire was lit.

“Sorry. I will no longer use magic in vain,” he said timidly. “My grandmother taught me herbalism, and with scenting as good as mine choosing proportions is easy peasy catnip squeezy!” He smiled radiantly clearly proud of his success.

“I'm glad to hear that, as now we have a lot of work to do,” said the sorcerer, throwing a cloak over his shoulders. “The hardest is yet to come.”

**Author's Note:**

> Links with art for this story: https://twitter.com/Madam_Monochrom/status/1191602759088377856?s=19  
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4djgmCACzh/?igshid=1cuxid3n8mczm


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